8. Rosalyn TureckThe Well-Tempered Clavier

When I started the piano in my 30s, one of the first people I discovered was Rosalyn Tureck. She’s kind of a connoisseur’s pianist, she was also famously known as the high priestess of Bach. I love the way she plays. I was very lucky to listen to Bach before I listened to much other classical music, so it gives you a way into other music. I think it was the time I was really listening a lot to The Well-Tempered Clavier, and it’s so pure, and it’s so cleansing to the ear. I think I was a little bit lost, but this was so meaningful to me, and I can still go back to that music, and it has the same effect when there’s too much noise. It flows, and each sound on the piano just feels right to me. Particularly with Bach, people are very passionate about their favourite pianist, and the way they play that music, so I’m very connected to her playing. Another person might hate it, but it’s how I first heard that music – it was a joyful discovery, because it introduced me to so much other music, she was a kind of gateway drug.